TITLE:
Protective and Regenerative Anti-Pollution Efficacy of a Plant Oil-Based Day and Night Cream: Investigated by a Novel Approach to Reveal the Impact of Pollutants on Epidermal Barrier Integrity and Lipid Matrix
AUTHORS:
Dorothee Dähnhardt, Stephan Dähnhardt-Pfeiffer, Isabel Simon, Dana Ditgen, Inge Holland, Dörte Segger, Jürgen Blaak, Peter Staib
KEYWORDS:
Skin Care, Anti-Pollution, Skin Barrier, Intercellular Lipid Lamellae, Cigarette Smoke
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Cosmetics, Dermatological Sciences and Applications,
Vol.13 No.4,
December
20,
2023
ABSTRACT: In the
wake of ever-increasing environmental pollution, human skin in the modern urban
world is exposed to increased levels of harmful environmental pollutants. Many
studies have shown that these pollutants can weaken the epidermal skin barrier
and thus facilitate the penetration of these substances into the skin. An
important goal of modern skin care against harmful environmental influences
should therefore be to protect and strengthen the epidermal barrier and to
repair occurring damage quickly and efficiently. With this in mind, in the present study we investigated what
damage cigarette smoke causes to the epidermal barrier and 1) whether the regular application of a O/W emulsion (Day Cream) can
protectively strengthen the epidermal barrier against environmental damage and 2) whether a cigarette smoke-induced disruption of the epidermal barrier is restored faster and
better by the regular application of a another O/W emulsion (Night Cream) than
in product-untreated skin. The two products are slightly different in
plant-oil, active ingredient composition and texture. Firstly, the study has
shown that the Lipbarvis? method is suitable for measuring the effect of cigarette smoke,
in contrast to conventional biophysical measurement methods (transepidermal
water loss, skin hydration). Secondly, both products were able to improve skin
barrier function in the corresponding test scenario. This was demonstrated for
both test products by a significantly reduced TEWL, significantly increased
skin hydration and significantly improved
length of the lipid lamellae in the intercellular space, as well as the protective effect of the day cream on the
epidermal skin barrier and the regenerative properties of the tested night cream.